IRCTC Website, Mobile App Down Due To “Maintenance Activity”

Thu Dec 26 07:13:28 UTC 2024: ## IRCTC Website Crashes Again, Leaving Passengers Stranded During Peak Booking Time

**NEW DELHI –** The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) website and mobile app experienced a major outage this morning, disrupting ticket bookings for the second time this month. The crash, occurring at 10:00 AM, precisely when the popular “Tatkal” booking system opened, left countless passengers unable to secure tickets.

Users reported receiving error messages indicating “maintenance activity,” sparking widespread frustration on social media platforms like X (formerly Twitter). Screenshots circulating online showed error messages and complaints about the persistent unreliability of the system, particularly during peak booking periods like the holiday season. Many users accused the system of being slow and prone to crashes, suggesting potential scams due to the inability to book tickets during the outage.

This marks the second significant disruption in December alone. On December 9th, the website was down for an hour, also attributed to “maintenance activity.” The repeated failures are raising serious concerns about the IRCTC’s infrastructure and its ability to handle the high volume of traffic during peak booking times. Users have called on Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and the Ministry of Railways to urgently address the recurring technical issues affecting millions of passengers.